


A Hot Day on the Beach

by fooooof234



Series: Hot Neighbor Will [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Mortal AU, hot neighbor will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-08-24 06:15:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8360557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fooooof234/pseuds/fooooof234
Summary: Will and Nico hang out at the beach, Nico is so gone on this boy, fluff ensues





	

**Author's Note:**

> you don't have to read part one of this series for it to make sense, but it probably helps

While summer in California was notorious for being rather hot, there were always some days that contradicted that statement; and today was one of them. Only about 75 degrees, a light breeze, and a smattering of clouds in the sky made it the perfect day for Nico to take his sketchbook outside. He leaned against the big tree in his backyard, pencil in hand and sketchbook open on his bent knees. His head was bent over his work, a drawing of a boy that had a similarity to the one next door.

Who was walking over to an oblivious Nico.

Nico didn’t even notice he was there until he heard him say, “Hey, Nico, what’re you drawing?”

Slamming his sketchbook shut so his crush didn’t see it, he muttered a quick, “Oh, nothing.”

Will just smiled at him as he sat down on the ground next to him. “It’s cool, I know that art is a pretty private thing for some people.”

“Yeah,” replied Nico, wishing he could think of something more intelligent to say; Will’s arm was grazing his, and, frankly, it was a bit distracting.

Sighing, Will tilted his head back and wistfully stared at the puffy clouds. Nico set his things aside and joined him, doing his best to act casual and not at all like his heart was beating a million beats per second.

“So,” started Will, still looking at the sky, “what exactly is there to do around here?”

“Um-” Nico’s brain fumbled for an answer. What indeed? Not many options come to mind when you spend most of your time indoors with the curtains drawn.

But fortunately for Nico, Will was a literal angel and didn’t leave him to sputter. “Like, places that people go. To, you know, hang out and stuff.”

He looked at Nico, almost as if he was hinting at something more, but Nico was too daft to pick up on whatever it was. So he went back to thinking of places.

“Well, there’s always the beach,” he offered.

Will’s eyes lit up and he turned his body to face Nico’s head-on. “Which beach?” he asked excitedly.

“Uh, Hermosa Beach Pier. It’s about a 30 minute drive from here.”

“We should go!” Will reached out and grabbed Nico’s hands with his own. Which definitely didn’t cause Nico’s face to heat up. No sir, not at all.

“Uh, um, y-yeah. Definitely,” he responded eloquently.

Smiling, Will picked up Nico’s discarded pen with one hand, Nico’s hand with the other, and started to scribble on the back of it.

He looked back up at Nico when he was finished, explaining, “Here’s my number, so we can coordinate our plans.” He gave him another smile, and Nico thought he was going to die.

Clearing his throat, he managed a “sounds good” before Will stood up, waved goodbye, and started back towards his own house, oblivious to the sigh that escaped Nico’s lips.

* * *

_9:32_

_To Will:  
Hey, it’s Nico. Still thinking about going to the beach?_

Holding his breath, Nico hit send. He then sat down on his bed, hugged his knees, and waited for a response. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait very long.

_9:33_  
From Will:  
Nico, hey!!!! and definitely! wanna leave tomorrow at 8? I’ll drive

8? In the morning? Usually that was the middle of the night for Nico, but if it meant spending time with Will, it would be worth it.

_9:34_  
To Will:  
Sounds good, I’ll meet you at your house

_9:34_  
From Will:  
Great! see you then ;)

Nico dropped the phone. A winky face. Will had sent him a  _winky face_. What did  _that_  mean? Was he just being nice? Did he do that in all of his texts? Was he- dear god, was he  _flirting_? 

“Hnnnnnnggggg.” Nico flopped down on his bed.  _I’m dead. This beautiful boy has killed me_.

* * *

Nico shifted in his bed, squinting his eyes against the sun that was streaming in through the open window. Groggily, he reached for his phone on his nightstand and turned it on so he could read the time.

7:54.

_Shit. Shit shit shit. How could I have overslept? On today of all days?_

Jumping out of bed, Nico sprinted to the bathroom. He quickly used the toilet, brushed his teeth, and ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to make it look somewhat presentable. That finished, he ran back to his room and pulled on his swim trunks and a t-shirt, not even caring to see if they matched. He then hurriedly stuffed a towel and other items into his backpack, slipped his feet into sandals, and sprinted down the stairs so fast he could feel himself almost fall. Grabbing a banana as he passed the kitchen, he continued running until he reached Will’s house.

Nico rang the doorbell as he tried to get his breathing under control, aiming to appear cool and collected. The door opened to a smiling (and a clearly not rushed) Will.

“Hey, just on time!” he said. “Let me just grab my bag and we can go.”

Nico nodded in response as Will ran up the stairs. He started to peel his banana when he was ambushed by to small children.

“Nico!” Austin exclaimed as he wrapped his skinny arms around Nico’s middle. Laughing, Nico ruffled the top of his head. Kayla was standing on his other side, and was showing him one of her drawings.

“Look, Nico, I drew you a picture!” She pushed it into his hand, and he grabbed it and held it up to look at it. It was him, Kayla, and Austin -- Nico could tell because she had labelled all of them.

“Wow, Kayla, you’re really getting better, I’m impressed!” Ever since Nico had babysat the two of them that first time, they had come over a lot so they could improve their art skills (and so Nico could improve his interactions with kids). It also didn’t hurt his getting to know Will better, but they didn’t need to know that.

Austin had finally removed himself from Nico, and asked, “Are you hanging out with us today?”

Nico opened his mouth to answer, but Will had come back and beat him to it. “Nope, sorry, I get Nico all to myself today.” He looked straight at Nico and winked, a goofy grin on his face.

Nico’s mouth was still open, so he hastily took a bite of his banana to cover up any awkwardness.

Both Kayla and Austin pouted at that, but Will promised them that they could all do something later. Saying goodbye to the kids, Nico and Will made their way out of the house and towards the Solace family station wagon. They threw their bags in the back seat, climbed in, and they were off.

Nico ate the rest of his makeshift breakfast as Will told him how he had looked up directions to the beach the night before in preparation.

“I’m really excited,” he said looking over at Nico. “It’s gonna be super fun, just the two of us.”

He smiled at Nico, who smiled in return, thinking  _“Just the two of us”? That means he likes hanging out with me. Is this a_ date _? Oh god, don’t read into this too much_.

Will turned on the radio, flipping through the stations until satisfied. The two boys made small talk as the drove towards the beach, any pauses in the conversation filled by the music from the radio. It was pleasant, and Nico was internally patted himself on the back for not being too awkward or obvious.

In seemed like no time at all, they had reached Hermosa Beach Pier. Will managed to find a spot not to far from the beach, parked, and both boys got out, grabbed their bags, and headed for the water.

The weather was great, thought Nico -- sunny and warm without being oppressively hot. Will looked over and smiled at him, apparently thinking the same thing. It was also early enough in the day that there weren’t that many people at the beach yet, just them and a couple of families. Perfect; Nico hated crowds.

They found an open an unoccupied area of sand a ways away from the other patrons of the beach. Nico got out his towel and laid it down on the ground; Will was getting out a bottle of sunscreen.

“I wouldn’t have guessed that you used sunscreen,” said Nico, before his brain could tell him to shut up.

Will’s lips quirked up a bit. “Why would you say that?”

“Oh, um,” Nico stuttered, “it’s just that you’re so, you know,  _tan_.”

Will smiled completely at that, laughing a bit, before he responded, “I’m outside a lot, but if I know that I’m gonna be in the sun for a long stretch of time, I always make sure to use sunscreen.”

Nico nodded. “Makes sense.”  _Oh, you idiot_.

Turning his face back to his own bag so Will wouldn’t see his blush, Nico started digging around for his own sunscreen. Only to find it wasn’t there.  _Well shit_.

He turned back to Will to ask if he could use some of his, but suddenly found himself unable to speak. Or breathe. For Will had taken of his shirt, and was lathering his arms and torso. If Nico was blushing before, it was nothing compared to now; Will was very tan and very muscular and seeing all of that from a very short distance was doing things to him. He was very grateful that the beautiful boy before him was paying attention to his task and not to Nico’s face.

But then, of course, he looked up. His face had an expression as if he was trying not to smile. “Yes?” he asked.

“Uh-um-I,”  _Jesus, can’t you even speak_? 

Will just continued to look at him, a smile forming on his face.

“Sunscreen!” Nico blurted suddenly. “I, uh, forgot mine. Yours? I mean, can I borrow yours?”

“Sure,” said Will, tossing him the bottle. “But only if you’ll put some on my back  first.”

_Dead. I am officially dead. I have ascended into heaven, my funeral will be within the week_.

Clearing his throat, Nico replied, “No problem” in a rather weak voice.

Will smirked a bit, then turned around so Nico could fulfill his task. He opened the bottle, squirted out some sunscreen, and, biting his lip, started to rub it into Will’s back. It was a rather paradoxical situation; he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible, as he was sure he was going to spontaneously combust at any given moment, but he also wanted it to last forever, to permanently etch into his mind the act of rubbing sunscreen into the back of a literal greek god. Not only was Will extremely tan and muscular (as noted before), but up close Nico could see that he also had freckles, freckles that Nico was doing his best to memorize.

But all too soon, Nico realized he was still pressing his hands into Will’s back even thought he had rubbed all the the sunscreen in a while ago. He abruptly dropped them back to his side, sure he only imagined the small noise that Will made when he did so.

Will flashed a smile over his shoulder. “Thanks.”

“Mhmm,” was all Nico could manage for a response. He took off his own shirt and started to use the sunscreen on himself; his legs, his arms, his chest. Meanwhile, Will was arranging his own towel on the sand. When he finished, he held out his hand towards Nico. “You did mine, it’s only fair I do yours.”

Nico stared back blankly for a second, trying to comprehend his meaning, then-  _Oh, god, he wants to rub sunscreen into_ my _back_. Nodding, Nico turned around, glad that this position made it impossible for Will to see his blush.

Strong hands started to work the sunscreen into Nico’s shoulder blades, and he had to bite his lip to avoid letting out any embarrassing sounds. Will continued to work his way down his back, and Nico realized that  _this_  was the moment that he truly ascended into heaven.

When Will was done, Nico turned around and smiled at him, saying, “Thanks.”

Will echoed his “Mhmm,” with a wink, then went to put the sunscreen away in his backpack.

Brain officially turned to mush, Nico sat down on his towel and stare at the water. Was Will  _trying_  to kill him? He must be aware of the effect his actions were bringing. Could he- was it possible he was doing it on  _purpose_? Nico sighed, but hey, a boy can dream.

After Will had finished situating his things, he stood next to Nico and offered his hand. “C’mon, we didn’t come to the beach just so we could sit.” He smiled brightly, and Nico thought that he would jump off a bridge if Will asked.

So he placed his left hand in Will’s right and let himself be hauled up to his feet. Expecting the physical contact to end there, Nico was surprised when Will gripped his hand tighter and started sprinting towards the water, forcing Nico to run with him. Soon both boys were breathlessly laughing as they ran into the ocean.

“Shit, it’s cold,” exclaimed Nico, dropping Will’s hand so he could wrap his arms around himself.

Will was wading further into the water; soon the water was up to his waist while Nico only had his calves submerged.

“C’mon Nico, don’t be a wimp!” called Will, a teasing grin on his face.

Glaring at him, Nico replied, “I am  _not_  a wimp!” He started moving closer to Will in order to prove it, ignoring the cold water.

When he reached Will, he uncrossed his arms and put his hands on his hips. “There, satisfied?”

The grin broadened. “Not quite.” And then Nico was pushed backwards into the ocean, going down with a small yelp.

_Oh, you didn’t_ , thought Will. Rather than getting up immediately, he stayed under and grabbed Will’s leg, pulling so that he fell down as well; with pride, Nico noted that Will shrieked a little as he did so.

Nico rightened himself, pushing his now wet hair out of his face and laughing as Will stood up. He had a mischievous glint in his eye, pushing his hair back as well.

“It is  _on_ , di Angelo.”

Thus beginning a splash war between the two boys, both laughing and pretending to be indignant when splashed by the other. After declaring it to be a tie, they retreated back to the beach, but not quite the way back to their things. They stayed by the water, and started to build a sandcastle together, bickering good-naturedly over the small details.

“And voila!” declared Will as he stuck a leaf in the top of their creation, serving as a flag.

Nico snickered; since they didn’t have any buckets or shovels, their “castle” looked more like a glorified pile of sand than a regal residence.

Thwacking his arm at his reaction, Will said, “How dare you mock such a palace.”

“Will, it looks like crap.”

“It is  _majestic_. Not my problem if you can’t see that.”

Nico just kept laughing, his laughter getting louder and more obnoxious the more Will went on.

“Nico, really, how can you laugh? This is truly a work of art right here. I’m lamenting the fact that I didn’t bring a camera so I could photograph it to remember this occasion forever.” He sighed dramatically.

Now snorting in addition to his laughter, Nico laid himself on the ground, completely overcome by Will’s ridiculousness. He then felt the waves start to hit his legs, and looked up to see that the water was starting to get closer and closer to the sand castle.

“No! All our hard work!”

Will pretended to wail in misery as the sand pile was consumed by the ocean, setting Nico off into another fit of giggles. 

Sniffling, Will sighed. “Why must the good die young?”

Nico finally composed himself, sitting up completely and looking at Will, who was smiling back at him. Standing, Nico brushed sand off himself and said to Will, “Let’s head back to our towels; I think we should leave sand castle construction to kids.”

Will stood as well. “Maybe you’re right.”

They walked back to where their things were, silently agreeing to lay down on their respective towels so that they could fully dry off. Nico checked his phone and saw that it was approaching noon; the beach reflected that, as there were many more people on it now then when Nico and Will had arrived. Shoving his phone back into his bag, Nico leaned back, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the sun.

He didn’t plan on falling asleep, but he should’ve known it would happen. After all, with his messed up summer sleep schedule, he was surprised to have lasted this long when he got out of bed before eight. He was awoken by a warm hand gently jostling his shoulder, and opened his eyes to an angel leaning over him, golden hair framed by the sun.

“Hey, you fell asleep.”

Right, of course. Will, he was at the beach with Will. He smiled sheepishly as he sat up. “Sorry, eight o’clock is earlier than I usually get up.”

“It’s cool,” said Will leaned back in order to give Nico some space. “You’re cute when you sleep.”

_Why do I have to blush so easily? Why must you say such things? Man oh man oh man_. “Uh, thanks.”

Will smiled at him, then got his shirt out of his backpack and put it on ( _goodbye, lovely skin_ ). “I was thinking that we could go find someplace to eat lunch.”

Nodding his affirmation, Nico started to put on his shirt and pack his things up as well. 

They started walking away from the beach and towards the street lined with buildings. Will was keeping rather close to Nico, and his hand kept grazing the back of Nico’s.  _Is it intentional? Does he want to hold my hand? Just play it cool, Nico, don’t be desperate_.

They found a small little sandwich shop and figured it would be a good place to eat, Will holding the door open for Nico to walk through. There was a good-sized crowd already, but it certainly wasn’t crowded. They made their way to the counter and ordered; Nico went to reach for his wallet, but Will gestured for him not to. “I got this. You want to find us a table?”

“Um, okay. You sure?”

Cue that wonderful smile. “Yeah, totally.”

Nico managed to find an unoccupied table for two in the back corner, and soon Will came over with their food. They chatted pleasantly, reminiscent of their conversation on the drive here. Nico’s left hand was resting on the table, and he noticed that Will’s right was doing so as well, his fingertips just barely touching Nico’s; he had to really focus on their conversation, doing his best to ignore the butterflies in his stomach.

After they had finished eating (and had just sat and talked some more for a while), Will suggested that they find an ice cream shop. So they exited the small restaurant and started to walk down the street; again, Will’s hand was dangerously close to Nico’s. And, again, when they found a place, Will held the door open for him.  _Could he be any more charming_?

They each ordered a single scoop cone, Will moving to pay so quickly that Nico didn’t have a chance to protest. As they waited for their ice cream, Nico gave him a glare to convey his feelings about that.

Will laughed. “I’ll let you pay next time, ok?”

“Ok.”  _Next time? Will wants to hang out with me again? Praise my lucky stars_.

Taking their cones, they went outside in order to amble up and down the streets, pointing out the sights for each other as they ate their dessert. It was pretty much perfect, and Nico felt a bit of sadness settle into his stomach knowing that it was soon going to be over.

Ice cream cones finished, they walked back to Will’s station wagon and started to head home. Will found a serene radio station, and they listened to the soothing tunes as they drove back home. In what seemed like no time at all, they were pulling into Will’s driveway.

Pulling the key out of the ignition, Will turned to face Nico. “I had a really great time,” he said in a genuine voice.

Nico gave him a small smile. “Me, too.”

“Probably the best date I’ve ever been on.”

_Error. Nico.exe is no longer functioning_.

“Uh-um, I, uh”  _C’mon brain, work, work_!

Will’s face faltered. “Shit, I’m sorry. I just kind of assumed, we can just be friends-”

“No!” interjected Nico. “I mean, uh, I’d like it to be a date. I just, um, didn’t really know that you did, too.”

Will blushed and bit his lower lip.  _This boy_. “Well, I did.”

He then leaned over and quickly pressed his lips against Nico’s; it was barely enough to qualify as a kiss, but it made Nico tingle nevertheless.

“I’ll text you later, yeah?” asked Will.

Nico nodded dumbly. “Uh-huh.”

How Nico managed to get out of the car and get back into his house, he couldn’t tell you. He immediately went to his room, bypassing his stepmom in the kitchen, and flopped face-down on his bed, sighing.

“How was your day, honey?” called Persephone from downstairs.

“I think I’m in love.”

“That’s nice, dear.”

**Author's Note:**

> on tumblr at solangelo-stuffs


End file.
